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Programmers and software developers lost the plot on naming their tools

(larr.net)
311 points todsacerdoti | 3 comments | 11 Dec 25 18:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.407s | source
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wpollock ◴[11 Dec 25 18:50 UTC] No.46235391[source]▶
If you didn't already know, what do you think a tool called "emacs" does?
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9rx ◴[11 Dec 25 19:08 UTC] No.46235698[source]▶
If you didn't already know, what do you think a tool called a "combine" does?

Combine things? Nope. Its purpose is to separate things...

Its not just the software industry.

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1. bigstrat2003 ◴[11 Dec 25 19:42 UTC] No.46236161[source]▶
Technically it's a "combine harvester" as far as I know, which is more intuitive. Though in practice everyone calls it a "combine".
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2. ◴[11 Dec 25 19:59 UTC] No.46236350[source]▶
3. 9rx ◴[11 Dec 25 20:02 UTC] No.46236374[source]▶
Technically it is "combine". Originally it was known as a "combined harvester-thresher", which is maybe what you're thinking of, but that was soon shortened to "combine" and it has stuck ever since.

"Combine harvester" showed up in some places later where context was needed to figure out what "combine" means, but it was seemingly only for context. "Combined harvester-thresher harvester" is pointlessly redundant.